REVIEW: So Shines the Night by Tracy L Higley

Title: So Shines the Night
Series: None
Author: Tracy L Higley
Published Date: March 12, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format: ebook
Pages: 400
ISBN: 1401686826
Copy provided by: BookSneeze
Genre: religious fiction
Add to: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Synopsis: Daria's new home in Ephesus with Lucas both beguiles and confounds her, until she meets followers of The Way.
Her past has taught her that evil is real, that it can consume a person. She saw it happen with her husband, before he took his own life. Widowed, with no family, Daria becomes a tutor to Lucas, a rich traveling merchant from Ephesus. There she discovers evil has a strong foothold and that Lucas himself seems drawn to evil and sorcery.
As her relationship with her employer grows, she fears that she will be unable to pull him to pull him from demonic influence. Tension in the city is about to erupt, as a new sect called The Way continues to draw followers. A man called Paul leads the movement against the economic and political strength of the city, found in its goddess cult.
When she learns more of the ways of the Christians and their ability to defeat evil, she begins to have hope. But then Lucas is arrested and jailed for a brutal crime, and it seems not even the Christians can help.
Tensions escalate in the city until thousands are pouring into the arena to protest the influence of the Christians, and a plot to kill Paul is underway. When Lucas's execution is scheduled, Daria must find a way to prove his innocence, save his life, and help her new friends before everyone she loves is destroyed.

My Review: I'd like to thank Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson Publishing for allowing me a copy of this book for review.
I've heard only good things about some of Tracy Higley's books and I was really looking forward to reading this book. I was interested in how she introduced the early history of the Christian church and some of its leaders, like Paul and Timothy.
I have to say, this was a pleasant surprise. The author does such a great job of describing the world around you that the reader truly feels like they are a part of the experience. Early Ephesus really came to life for me, and Paul was given a life and personality that I never could have imagined on my own. I definitely enjoyed this book, and would like to read it again.